Student charged in Monroe Middle School bomb threat hoax

A teenager who authorities say perpetrated a bomb threat hoax on Monroe Middle School Nov. 30 has been charged with a crime.

The 13-year-old student has been charged as a juvenile with false report or threat of terrorism, Monroe County Prosecutor Michael G. Roehrig announced Monday. The student's name is being withheld because of her age.

“The law enforcement community takes these threats seriously, and the Prosecuting Attorney's Office will hold offenders accountable," Roehrig said in a news release. "School violence is a community problem, and it's going to take a community effort to solve."

More:Investigation finds who made Monroe Middle School bomb threat hoax

All acts, no matter how seemingly insignificant, have consequences, Roehrig said. He said this is true for teenagers as well as adults.

"Unfortunately, the rational part of the human brain isn’t fully developed until age 25," he said. "As anyone who has ever dealt with a teenager knows so well, teenagers are more emotional, and their ability to use good judgment and be aware of long-term consequences is limited. Teens are more likely to act impulsively and have difficulty seeing the ‘big picture’ and connecting actions with consequences. For this reason, families need to talk about school violence, talk through consequences, and explore ways of resolving conflict that are peaceful and productive."

Discussing consequences can help teens link impulsive thinking with facts, the news release said, citing the Stanford University Children's Health Center.

An investigation by Monroe police and school personnel led to the female student admitting that she wrote the note and brought it to the school office, police and the school district said last week.

There were about 800 students at the school at the time the note was brought to the school office, the news release said.

The hoax led school officials to briefly lock down the middle school, then evacuate the school and arrange for parents to pick up their students or for students to be taken home by bus, the school district said last week. Emergency personnel searched the school for a bomb but found nothing. Buses from Monroe Transportation and Lake Erie Transit helped take kids home. Classes were canceled Dec. 1 to allow staff to debrief and plan to be with students Dec. 2.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Telegram: Student charged in Monroe Middle School bomb threat hoax